Toothbrush



Jan' 237 J. R. MCELWA|N TOOTHBRUSH Filed May 5, 1935 lNvENTcR n BY Mz/ nl ma ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 23, i934 TOQTHBEUSH .i ames Robert McElwain,Kenosha, Wis'.

Serial No. 669,235

Application May 3, 1933.

3 Claimsn (Cl. 15-176') This invention relates to toothbrushes of therellable type and has for the primary object, the provision oi a deviceof the above stated character whereby one refill may be easily andquickly substituted for another in the holder of the toothbrush, theholder and body portion of the reiill being so constructed that whenassembled to each other no crevices or the like will be presented inwhich toothpaste or foreign matter may catch or accumulate, therebymaintaining the toothbrush in a highly sanizary condition and furtherthe refill will be firmly and effectively retained against accidentaldisplacement during the use of the toothbrush.

With these and other objects in view this invention consiss in certainnovel features ci construction, coinbination and arrangement of parts tobe hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had tothe following description and accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 isa plan View illustrating a toothbrush constructed in accordance myinvention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation illustrating the same.

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing the reli partlypositioned within the holder of the toothbrush. v

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a sectional View taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the holder.

Figure 8 is a perspective view illustrating the body portion of therell.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 1 indicates a handleprovided with a reduced pon tion to form a shank 2 slightly offset, asshown in Figure 2, and merging into a holder 3. The handle, shank andholder are of integral construction and constructed preferably of anysuitable metal.

The holder 3 has a refill chamber 4 opening outwardly through the freeend of the holder and through one face of the holder, as shown in Figure7. The formation of the chamber 4 in the holder provides side walls 5,an end wall 6 and a bottom wall 7, the end wall 6 being disposed at aninclination as clearly shown in the drawing, while a portion of the sidewalls 5 is concaved, as shown at 8, and the remaining portions that jointhe end wail 6 are tapered, as shown at 9. The' side walls 5 are ofcomparatively thin material providing flexibility so that they may giveduring the insertion and removal of the reiill in the chamber.

The renll consists of a body 10 having a at face il provided with aseries of openings 12 to receive tufts of bristles 13. One end of thebody is beveled, as shown at 13, to correspond with the inclination ofthe end wall 6 of of the holder while the opposite end of the body isslightly enlarged to form a closure 14 for the open end of the chamber4. The side walls 15 of the body lo have a portion thereof convexed tofit the concave portions of the side walls 5 of the holder, while theremaining portions of the side walls of the holder are inclined tocorrespond with the inclination of the portions 9 of the side walls 5 ofthe holder. The end 14 of the body projects slightly beyond the sidewalls oi the body to form shoulders 16 disposed at an inclination toabut beveled or inclined end edges 17 of the side walls 5 of the holder.

The body 10 when positioned in the chamber 4 completely iills the latterwith the bristles 13 presented in a position that they 80 may act freelyupon the teeth of a person when moved within the mouth of the person. Itis preferable that the tufts of bristles decrease in length towards theend 14 oi the body 10, as shown in Figures 2 to 4. This arrangement of55 bristles allows a person to more readily operate the toothbrush inrestricted areas of the mouth.

To place a reiill within the holder 3 the body of the reiill ispositioned iirst, as shown in Figure 4 and a pressure upon the body inthe direction of 0A the wail 7 oi the chamber 4 causes the body to snapinto position within the chamber, thewalls 5 ci the chamber yielding topermit passage of the body 10 into the chamber and due to theinclination oi the free edges of the side walls 5 and the shoulders 16of the body portion and the inciined end 13' of said body portion andthe inclined wall 6 of the chamber permit the easy starting of therefill into the chamber and also cause a limited endwise movement of thebody of the rell during the snapping of the body into the chamber. Toremove the refill from the chamber it is only necessary to exertpressure upon the end 14 of the body away from the holder. The rell dueto the construction of the holder and the body of the refill eliminatecrevices in which foreign matter may accumulate and thereby maintain thebrush in a sanitary condition. The body 10 of the refill may beconstructed of any material suitable for the purpose and 110 -ioo alsomay be of diiferent colors to render it easy to distinguish one brushfrom another when grouped or assembled in a holder.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction,combination and arrangement of parts may be made Without departing fromthe spirit and scope of my invention, as claimed.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. A toothbrush comprising a handle, a holder on the handle and having achamber opening outwardly through one end of the holder and one sideface of said holder, and providing opposite resilient walls havingportions thereof concaved and portions inclined, a refill body havingportions of opposite Walls convexed and other portions tapered to engagewith the correspondingly shaped portions of the side walls of the holderwhen positioned in the chamber, and tufts of bristles carried by thebody.

2. A toothbrush comprising a handle, a holder on the handle and having achamber opening outwardly through one end of the holder and one sideface of said holder, and providing opposite resilient Walls havingportions thereof concaved and portions inclined, a rell body havingportions of opposite Walls convexed and other portions tapered to engagewith the correspondingly' shaped portions of the side Walls of theholder when positioned in the chamber, tufts of bristles carried by thebody, said chamber having its end Wall inclined, and said body havingone end inclined to t the inclined end wall of the chamber.

3. A toothbrush comprising a handle, a holder on the handle and having achamber opening outwardly through one end of the holder and one sideface of said holder, and providing opposite resilient walls havingportions thereof concaved and portions inclined, a refill body havingportions of opposite walls convexed and other portions tapered to engagewith the correspondingly shaped portions of the side Walls of the holderwhen positioned in the chamber, tufts of bristles carried by the body,said chamber having its end wall inclined, said body having one endinclined to t the inclined end wall of the chamber, said body having itsopposite end enlarged to form shoulders abutting the end edges of theside Walls of the chamber, said last-named end of the body forming aclosure for the open end of the chamber and presenting a finger piecefor a person to grip for the insertion and removal of the body from thechamber.

JAMES ROBERT MCELWAIN.

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